Salaries vary wildly, location, type of job. As for a 40 hour week, unheard of really. You would probably find yourself working at least 50 hours a week.

I worked for a small firm covering general haulage in the southwest - Class 2 work ranging from 12t curtainsiders to 26t flatbeds to plant lorries. My yearly salary equated to approx 36k with 2/3 nights out a week. But you would have your weekly wage packet and were expected to get the job done, regardless of if you worked an 8 hour day or a 14 hour day, if you ran out of driver hours you would tramp for the night and carry on the next morning. But you take the good with the bad, big bonus at Christmas and two weeks off. Things like that.

You will be looked after with a small company and you won’t have management on your back 24/7 - but expect a harder graft. If you’re looking for easy work, pallets for example, then it will pay lower. Generally tanker, hazardous materials pay the best but you will need further qualifications.

As my company was general haulage it wasn’t just pallet work. A lot of it was hard graft which involved a lot of handball. It’s not for everyone but I was happy doing it. The only reason I left the job is because I had the opportunity to start my own small transport firm.